After the birth of her son, Mason, Dina Linkenhoker was set to return to the workforce in a business-oriented career.

But fate had a different answer.
A friend casually suggested she try substitute teaching. Linkenhoker did—and she loved it. “I thought, ‘I just really want to do this forever,’” she said. “It took off from there.”

Vicky Putt believes she was picked to be a teacher as a child.
“I started doing teaching kinds of things as a little girl,” Putt said. “I can’t imagine doing anything else. It’s what I was meant to do.”

A shooting Thursday afternoon at a Forest home, that caused four schools and several businesses to go on lockdown, is still under investigation with few new details, according to the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office.

The lockdowns lasted for more than an hour. At that time Bedford County Sheriff Mike Brown believed the area was clear and safe, but said area residents should continue to be careful.

ROCKY MOUNT, Va., May 27, 2011 – For the second time in less than a week a boater has destroyed a navigation marker in an active area of Smith Mountain Lake.
Boaters should be aware that the R-16 marker will be missing during the Memorial Day holiday weekend. The marker was located near Smith Mountain Lake State Park in what is known as the S-Curve, a high traffic area on the reservoir.

The Hardy Volunteer Fire Department can soon begin recouping some of the more than $150,000 prosecutors say were embezzled from it for more than two decades by its long-time fire chief Jeffrey Shifflett.

Following no contest pleas entered in Bedford County Circuit Court Friday afternoon by Deborah Shifflett, Jeffrey Shifflett's wife, to misdemeanor charges related to the case, the fire department can now gain access to the items purchased with those stolen department funds and begin selling them to help repay debts incurred under Jeffrey Shifflett's leadership.

A shooting Thursday afternoon at a Forest home, that caused four schools and several businesses to go on lockdown, is continuing into the evening, according to Bedford Sheriff Mike Brown.
The lockdowns were lifted in the area around 3:30 p.m., but area residents should continue to be careful, Brown said at a news conference Thursday.
“Just take precautions,” he said. He said if anyone suspicious is spotted, residents should immediately call 911. He added that residents should keep their cars and homes locked.

EastLake Community Church has already gone to the grocery store; this week it’s going to the movie theater.
This Sunday, May 29, at 10:30 a.m. EastLake Cinema Church will hold its first service at the WestLake Cinema.
“Simply put the impetus for this ministry is a desire to proclaim the gospel as broadly and effectively as we can,” stated EastLake Community Church Pastor Troy Keaton.
The service, which will be held in one of the theaters at WestLake Cinema, will feature praise and worship, led by a worship team there, as well as a sermon, via video, on the big screen.